A Troubled Nymph
by RogueMustangMare
Summary: Growing up in her Aunt's house, Tonks has never known love, comfort, friendship, or what a true family is like; tormented by everyone around her because she's in the wrong house, Tonks soon starts to think that she will never find anyone to love her. That is until she runs off into the Forest on the night of a full moon and comes face to face with her destiny. Warning AU.
1. Prologue

_ An infant's cries were all that could be heard as the Death Eaters stormed the house; the woman holding the crying infant tried to soothe the babe with a calm voice. But her own fears caused her voice to shiver and crack as shouts could be heard shouting out all kinds of curses and spells; each one worst then the last._

_ "Keep the child quiet, they'll hear us!" said the man that was next to her, his hand on her back guiding her through the secret path that led under the house to the woods beyond._

_ "Please be quiet little one!" she pleaded, her only wish was to get through the path safely and to get to the woods beyond the safe house._

_ The baby seemed to understand the fear in her mother's voice and how important it was for her to stay quiet, her cries quieted at once and her parents quickly made their way to the exit at the end of the path._

_ "In just a few minutes, we will be safe and we can get to the next safe house before we depart for America," said the man._

_ The woman smiled and squeezed his hand gently. "I know, Teddy," she replied and quickened her pace to match that of her husband's._

_ They reached the exit and, after looking around to make sure that they were safe to run, Teddy nodded to his wife and they both ran toward the woods._

_ They were just a mere foot away from the treeline when suddenly one of the trees a couple of feet away from them exploded with a resounding _CRACK!

_ "Andromeda look out!" shouted Teddy, grabbing his wife and child and pushing them out of the way, his own body pressing down on them to shelter them from any spells or curses that might come their way._

_ Andromeda felt the whoosh of air escape her lungs at the sudden impact of the ground underneath her body and her husband's own body on top of her own. When at last the vibrations from the fallen tree were gone, Teddy jumped up, his wand out at the ready to defend himself and his family, and helped Andromeda up, pushing her behind him, their breathes coming out in small puffs from the cold._

_ An evil cold-pitched laugh came from somewhere in the swirling snow and soon a tall, red-eyed man and two others approached them._

_ "Voldemort," whispered Andromeda in fear._

_ "Yes, I see I am very well known, Andromeda," said Voldemort in a lazy drawl._

_ The woman beside him cackled. "Ahh, is my little cousin afraid?" she asked, her voice sounding as though she were a mother talking to an infant._

_ "Bellatrix?" asked Andromeda in a disbelieving tone. "You joined the Dark Side?"_

_ Bellatrix nodded with a coy-smile on her face. "As if I would join any other side?" she asked. "Why not join us as well and save yourself, dear Cousin? Leave that filthy mudblood, we'll even let you keep your half-breed daughter as a bonus for joining us."_

_ "Never!" shouted Andromeda, stepping closer to her husband and hugging their child closer to her breast._

_ "What's the matter, mudblood?" asked Voldemort. "Cat got your tongue?"_

_ "Andy, take Nymphadora and run now!" said Teddy._

_ "Not without you!" said Andromeda._

_ "Don't worry about me, just go! I'll be there as soon as I can!" said Teddy and gently pushed her toward the woods._

_ She looked at him, knowing that there was a very slim chance of them seeing each other ever again. "I love you," she said and kissed him before running into the woods._

_ He stared at her, his eyes welling up with tears at never again being able to see his wife and child again. He saw movement behind him and turned around in time to deflect Voldemort's curse._

_ "Crucio!" yelled Voldemort._

_ "Expelliarmus!" yelled Teddy._

_ "You will die tonight, mudblood!" said Bellatrix, raising her wand._

_ Teddy stared in defiance as a flash of green light flew toward him and hit him squarely in the chest. His last thought as the life rushed out of his body was, _Please Dear God, watch over my wife and child. Protect our daughter from the fate that awaits her, protect her from Voldemort and let her grow up in a loving home.

_Voldemort chuckled, his red eyes gleaming like rubies. "Well done, Bellatrix, now . . . I believe you have some personal business to take care of? Namely, your cousin, Andromeda and her child!" he said, his voice sounding too cheerful for someone having just seen someone die._

_ "Yes, my Lord," said Bellatrix bowing before disapparating to follow after her cousin._

_ "Do you think it wise . . . to send Bellatrix, when we need the girl to survive?" asked the wizard next to Voldemort._

_ Voldemort laughed. "Do not worry, Fenrir, Bellatrix knows that the girl is the key to our victory; she won't harm the child," he said._

_ Andromeda ran as fast and as hard as she could, fighting tears all the way. She knew her husband was dead, but she could not let his sacrifice be in vain. _We're almost there, just a few minutes _she thought, praying that the Death Eaters would not follow, or could not find her trail or scent. With Fenrir among them, it would be hard to mask her scent, but she would do everything in her power to keep their daughter safe._

_ She looked down at the infant in question. Just a month old with the ability to change her appearance; the only part of her appearance that made her different from the other children her age was the mark on her right shoulder: a wand with a howling wolf. She looked up, her energy fast draining. _Please God, grant me the strength with renewed energy to make it to the safe house _she prayed._

_ A small cottage appeared in the middle of the clearing. To some, it would seem like an ordinary hunter's cabin, or a couple's weekend getaway. But to Andromeda, it was heaven, and she could already see the protective wards surrounding the cabin._

Oh thank God _she said to herself and, with renewed energy, she quickened her pace and ran toward the edge of the woods._

_ A dark cloud rushed in front of her, causing her to come to an abrupt halt a few feet away from the treeline when it dropped to the ground._

_ Breathing hard, she clutched the blanket-wrapped bundle to her chest as the infant's cries started up again._

_ "Sh, sh, it's okay little one, mommy's here," she whispered soothingly. She felt heat emanating from the infant's right shoulder which caused her to look to see the mark glowing._

_ A cackling laugh could be heard as a figure stepped out of the cloud and Bellatrix stepped out, sashaying toward Andromeda. "Oh dear, dear cousin, don't ever make promises that you can't keep," she said._

_ "P-P-Please Bellatrix . . . she's just an infant . . ." began Andromeda._

_ Bellatrix laughed. "Are you begging for her life? Don't worry, dear cousin, fortunately, my Lord is merciful and has good reasons to keep your half-breed daughter alive," she said and tilted her head. "You on the other hand . . . well . . . he's not that merciful."_

_ "Bellatrix please, don't take her to Him!" pleaded Andromeda, tears streaming down her face. "You were a mother once, you know what he will do to her; what he will turn her into! Don't make the same mistake twice!"_

_ Anger flashed on Bellatrix's face. "ENOUGH!" she yelled. "Give me the girl willingly, or suffer the consequences, cousin," she added._

_ Andromeda sobs as she tried to make one last effort to save her daughter. "Please . . ." she whispered, kissing her daughter's forehead._

_ Bellatrix hissed. "Wrong answer," she said and raised her wand._

_ Andromeda closed her eyes, she barely heard Bellatrix shout, "Avada Kedavra!" before she felt the whoosh of wind breathe the life out of her body. She barely felt her infant daughter being levitated out of her arms. All she felt was . . . nothing._

_ Bellatrix watched as her cousin crumbled to the ground, a sadistic smile on her face. She saw the blanket-wrapped baby next to her, levitating in mid-air and she reached out and took the infant into her arms. She looked at the baby with a mixture of hatred and disgust, as well as a hidden emotion that was barely underneath the surface of her eyes, but she blinked and it disappeared. "Well now, Nymphadora, let's take you to go meet your Master," she said and disapparated._

_ As the wind picked up, causing the swirling snowflakes to flutter sporadically around, a lone tear fell from the corner of Andromeda's and slid down her face._


	2. Chapter One

_Fifteen Years Later . . ._

Sometimes I wish I'd never been born. Sometimes I wish I had been born into a different life. And then there are times that I wish everyone around me had never been born or would die within the next week, or perhaps as soon as I shot them my famous death glare. However, life has to have a balance and we can't always get what we want . . . or least that's what Professor Dumbledore always said whenever I was sent to his office . . . but then again, he's a crazy old bat that never listens to anyone.

Personally I wish I could have continued to be home-schooled by my Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom, then I wouldn't to deal with being in Gryffindor and dealing with it's stupid, incompetent . . .

"Good afternoon, Nymphadora," said a cheerful voice that made my teeth grind at the sound of it.

I shot the person a death glare as the bench shuffled and four boys sat down. "What do you want Black?" I asked, going back to my lunch. I was so not in the mood to be dealing with these idiots, considering I spent a better part of my morning searching for my books, cleaning my uniforms, and being late for class and getting extra homework as a result. _My life sucks right now _I thought, trying to ignore them. Kind of hard to do when they were all staring at me as though they were about to give me the biggest treat of the century.

"What . . . can't I say 'good afternoon' to my favorite cousin?" he asked, looking innocent.

"You're version of saying "good afternoon" is usually some kind of prank," I replied, still not looking at them. "Why don't you four do everyone a huge favor and go take a long walk off a short pier into shark-infested waters?"

"I don't think Lily would like that," said Potter. "Well she wouldn't like it if I took that kind of walk, don't know how she would feel about them."

I scoffed. "I still don't see how you got her to date you, what did you use Potter? A love potion? Or something a little more . . . forbidden?" I asked, looking at him with one of my eyebrows raised.

"I would never do that to her or to anyone!" he shouted looking indignant that I would suggest such a thing. "It's vulgar and immoral."

I shrugged my shoulders as I grabbed my goblet filled with orange juice. "Suit yourself although I still think she could do better than you," I replied and drained the rest of the juice and setting the goblet back down. "Now if you will excuse me gentlemen, some of us have class to attend."

"Oh really? And what pray tell do you have this afternoon?" asked Black. "I was passing by the Transfiguration corridor, got off to a late start have we?"

"And it's none of your business Black cause we all know where you stand," I replied, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "I received a letter from my aunt today, how does it feel to have been disowned by your own family?"

The look of anger on his face, and the look of shock on his friends' faces, told me that he was still feeling the anger and shame, while his friends had been in the dark about it. "You shut up, Nymphadora," he growled, jumping to his feet.

"Or what?" I asked. "We both know you're Dumbledore's pet and you wouldn't want to risk getting expelled from school."

He took a step forward which immediately brought Potter and Lupin to each grab one of his arms in an effort to keep him from getting into trouble.

"Don't Padfoot," warned Lupin, nodding his head in the direction of the teachers' table.

"Is there something going on here?" asked Professor McGonagall's all-too familiar voice.

I smirked, knowing none of them would try to pull a prank right in front of her, which meant that I escaped from their clutches yet again. "Nothing's wrong Professor, just having a little chat with the famous Marauders is all," I replied glad that the whole "lightning strikes those who lie" didn't exist.

She gave us each a look as though she didn't believe us, but left it alone for the moment. "Be that as it may, Ms. Tonks I would like to have a word with you in my office," she replied before she turned to the Marauders. "You four, if you have already eaten, I suggest you get to class now and Potter, don't forget, that as Head Boy you have an obligation to report any infractions."

"Yes Professor," he replied looking humble.

_Yeah right, you're about as humble as a dragon looking like a small pet rabbit _I thought, but didn't say my thoughts out loud. It was bad enough that she wanted to talk to me in private, I didn't want to add more fuel to the fire by also being a smart ass.

"Come Ms. Tonks," said Professor McGonagall about to put one of her hands on my shoulder.

I shuffled away from her and walked out of the Great Hall, not even bothering to hide my so-called "rudeness". "You should know by now lady that I don't like to be touched," I growled under my breath, as I heard her shoes make clacking sounds on the floor as she briskly walked after me to catch up.

I looked behind me to see that she was able to walk fast, but not able to keep up with my pace since I wasn't wearing that stupid robe like she always wore. Sorry, but scarlet and gold were so not my colors. Although if Dumbledore had done what I had asked and transferred me over to Slytherin in my first year, I wouldn't have spent five years in a house I hated with a passion.

We kept walking up the stairs until we reached the Transfiguration corridor and walked toward her classroom which had an adjacent office attached to it. A few early students were hanging around outside the classroom, waiting for the lesson to begin; some were reading while others were going over their homework assignments.

"Good afternoon everyone," she greeted them.

"Good afternoon, professor," they replied, some were a bit more cheerful, while others were a mix of different emotions at seeing their teacher.

"Come on in, the lesson won't start for another ten minutes, for those who want to get an early start, the notes are up on the chalk board, don't worry about turning in your assignments right now, I will wait for the rest of the class to come in," she said, unlocking the door to the classroom and opening the door. She stepped back to allow everyone to file in before following the last student into the classroom. "Come with me, Ms. Tonks," she adds to me.

For a second, I was afraid that she would have whatever kind of meeting she wanted to discuss with me in front of the other students; but she veered to the door behind her desk and entered the adjacent office. I followed, feeling like a prisoner entering Azkaban.

Inside the office it was brightly lit with candles everywhere; on the back wall was a huge bookcase, filled with books. Some were about Transfiguration, while the rest were the Professor's personal book collection; along the rest of the walls on shelves or on decorative tables were different instruments that I had no clue what they were called.

"Please have a seat, Ms. Tonks," she said, gesturing for me to take a seat in one of the two chairs in front of the desk.

"I'll stand," I replied brusquely.

She sighed. "To be honest, Ms. Tonks, this meeting is not only about your academic performance this year, but about your behavior," she said walking to around to the other side of the desk and sat down.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ms. Tonks I know you don't like the idea of being in Gryffindor, in fact if I remember correctly you had wanted to be transferred to Slytherin house almost before the first day of the term," she said.

"And I still want to be transferred to Slytherin, I belong there, not here in this hell-hole," I said, hoping that maybe now that she saw how unhappy everyone, including myself, was about me being in Gryffindor, she would finally convince that crazy old-codger to transfer me to Slytherin at once.

"Ms. Tonks the Sorting Hat sorted you into Gryffindor for a reason, what that reason is remains to be seen," she replied curtly. "The least you could have done is make your time in my house reasonable."

I knew she had a point on that, but still, she didn't have to hear about it from my aunt and uncle every summer. "My aunt and uncle just want me transferred over to Slytherin, so I don't know why you and that crazy old-codger can't just transfer me over there," I said.

"Yes, but your parents were in Gryffindor," she said. "And the Sorting Hat does not make its decisions lightly," she adds before opening up a file which I recognized as my own. "Now, I've been noticing that while the first four years of your education here have been nothing but excellent, you've been having some trouble in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

I groaned. "It's nothing I can't handle," I replied, trying to sound as though I had a plan to get ahead in the class.

"Yes but Ms. Tonks we are all ready into the second month of the term, the Halloween Feast is within two weeks and you're barely passing," she said.

"So what do you suggest?" I asked, afraid of what her answer might be.

"My suggestion would be for you to get a tutor," she said, confirming my worst fears.

"Are you serious?" I asked, my voice just a little too loud for the confines of the office.

"Yes Ms. Tonks I am serious," she replied. "You are in your fifth year at Hogwarts, which means that you will be participating in you OWL exams; if you don't pass your teacher's expectations you will not be able to take up Defense Against the Dark Arts next year."

"But professor, a tutor? Someone whom I don't even know? How is that going to help me out in the long run?" I asked.

She gave me one of her famous looks before answering. "Well for one thing Ms. Tonks, you will be able to catch up with the rest of your classmates," she said.

I sighed, knowing that if my aunt and uncle saw my report at the end of the term, I was definitely in for a punishment. On the one hand though, having a tutor? Seriously? I barely tolerated anybody and I knew they barely tolerated me. "So what? Do you have someone in mind? Or . . . do I get to choose my tutor?" I asked.

"Actually I do have someone in mind and they have already agreed to tutor you three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," she said.

I looked up in shock. "Friday?" I asked, hoping I had heard wrong.

"Yes, Friday, Ms. Tonks, in fact you will be meeting them this afternoon, after your Potions lesson with Professor Slughorn," she replied, writing something down on a scrap piece of parchment before handing it to me. "The information is there. Have a nice day, Ms. Tonks."

"But professor . . ." I began, hoping that I could somehow talk my way out of having to have a tutoring session on Fridays.

"Good day, Ms. Tonks," she said and I had no choice but to leave and head to my next class.

As I walked along the corridors toward the dungeons, I thought about what she had said.

It was true that I had made my disgust at being sorted into Gryffindor over Slytherin with the attitude and grace of a young child; after being told that I was stuck in Gryffindor and that Dumbledore had refused my request for a transfer, I did everything in my power to make it known that I did not support Gryffindor. Like everyday I had classes, the only thing I wore was the blouse and skirt; I refused to wear the robe, cloak, or jumper because of the Gryffindor crest and colors; in fact the only time I wore them was if it was cold or raining.

The other thing I do is I support the Slytherin Quidditch team. Course, then again, it was either that or show that egotistical Potter any sign of respect and awe. I still don't know how that fool of a headmaster made that arrogant, egotistical maniac Head Boy.

The first bell rang signaling that I had exactly five minutes to get down to Potions.

I tightened my grip on my bag and set off at a jog down the last two flights of steps.

Unfortunately, life has never been that great to me and I stumbled on the missing step, my foot falling right through it. "Ow!" I yelped as my bag slipped off my shoulder and fell down the steps with a clatter, it's contents spilling out of the bag and all over the staircase. "Damn it!" I cursed.

The step was tricky, sometimes being there, and sometimes disappearing right when you were about to step on to it; usually I jumped that step so I didn't have to deal with it. _Seriously, I'm cursed; I've had a crap-filled morning and at some point someone is going to come by and flush the toilet _I thought, trying to lift my foot out of the step but it was no use. My foot had somehow gotten twisted to the point where I would definitely need help getting out of it.

But who was going to give it to me?

"Hey need some help?" asked a male voice behind me.

I turned as best as I could to look behind me to see Lupin standing behind me.

_Yep, it just got worse, cause he just flushed the toilet._


	3. Chapter Two

"No thanks Lupin, you can just go on ahead and go catch up with your friends," I replied, sarcasm filling my voice.

He shook his head and jumped down to the step below me, setting his bag down beside him on the step he was on. "Are you injured?" he asked gently checking my ankle with his hands.

I jumped as I felt the heat on my shoulder start to pulse, though it had nothing to do with my ankle. "Nope," I replied.

He looked up at me with questioning eyes but, thankfully, didn't ask them out loud. "All right, I know how to get your foot out, though you will feel a bit of pain," he replied.

I rolled my eyes. Typical guy trying to rescue a damsel in distress, although I considered myself too much of a tomboy to be a damsel in distress. "I'm used to pain," I replied, which certainly was true.

He shrugged and gently but firmly grabbed my ankle before twisting it around and pulling it free.

I jerked my ankle free and he helped me to my feet. "Thanks," I replied quickly and went to go pick up my books when suddenly they levitated themselves back into my bag. I looked up to see him putting his wand away.

"No problem," he replied, grabbing his own bag and slipping it onto his shoulder. "Be safe," he adds before walking away to head to whatever class he had.

I shook my head, shocked that someone had actually taken the time to help me; not only that, but it had been Lupin of all people. One of the Marauders, the very same group of boys who had been making fun of me and pulling pranks on me since the very first day of term. I shrugged, grabbed my backpack, and set off at a dead-run toward the dungeons.

I had just made it before the last warning bell rang and even then, I didn't have to worry too much if I had been late, Slughorn wasn't even in the classroom, which made me hope that I could begin the weekend early.

_Uh . . . are you forgetting already that you have to meet your tutor this afternoon _asked a voice inside my head.

_Oh right, I almost forgot _I thought, making my way to the back of the class. While I despised all of the teachers, I loved the classes, especially Defense Against the Dark Arts; however, while the teachers more often then not got on my nerves and made me want to curse them into the next century, Slughorn was the exception. With him, I didn't just want to curse him into the next century, I wanted to torture him and make him beat himself up.

The guy was a total suck-up, he even went as far as to create a club called the Slug Club; basically they would meet every week and he would teach them how to live in the Inner Circle, introduce them to celebrities he's met, and blah, blah, blah. I went to one meeting as a guest, Lily was wanting to get me to open up to everyone, and I left after five minutes. Ice cream was good, but the company was bad.

"Hey Tonks, you gonna blow up Slughorn's cauldron again? Or are you gonna actually behave?" asked one of the Slytherin boys.

I gave him a smirk. "Don't know, I might just blow it up to teach him a lesson about trying to get people to join that stupid club of his," I replied.

The rest of the Slytherins laughed out right at my comment, while the rest of the Gryffindors remained silent, some even being bold enough to give me a smoldering look.

It was then that I noticed that the birthmark on my shoulder had cooled off and I shook my head as I got my textbook, notebook, inkwell, and quill out. I couldn't explain it, but there were times when the birthmark would heat up and would sometimes even glow, while at other times it wouldn't do anything. It was weirder than even Black's attempt at being normal.

A couple of minutes later, Slughorn entered the classroom huffing and puffing, looking as though he had practically run all the way to his classroom.

"Good afternoon class," he said hurriedly, as he walked toward his desk at the front of the class.

"Good afternoon, Professor . . . Slughorn!" everyone else said, some of them even going as far as saying 'Professor Slughorn' as opposed to just saying, 'Professor'.

"Today is going to be a real treat for you all," he said, taking out his wand.

I just stared at him, my head in my right hand.

"Oh . . . what are we going to do today, Professor Slughorn?" asked Nadine, a complete and total snobbish, spoiled brat who also happened to be one of my dorm mates.

"Today, we are going to be making the Wolfsbane Potion," he said,making me cringe for some reason and making the mark on my shoulder begin to heat up again. "Now who here can tell me what this potion is used for?" asked Slughorn, talking as though we were all excited at the prospect of making such a potion.

"It's used for werewolves who have already been bitten so that with each full moon they're calm and not as dangerous as they are without the potion," I replied without raising my hand.

"Correct Ms. Tonks," said Slughorn. "But please raise your hand next time."

I rolled my eyes as he went on to explain about the different properties of the potion and which ingredients were rare and such; as well as how it should be served to the person inflicted with the curse. I copied down all of the notes including some of the notes that I found in my textbook. Before long, we had set up our cauldrons, gotten the ingredients, and were hard at work making the potion.

I had a bit of a hard time because the mark on my shoulder kept getting hotter and hotter and was even making my shoulder ache by the time I reached the final ingredient. I gritted my teeth however and worked through it, taking a look at my textbook. The final ingredient was the Wolfsbane, the one herb that could harm a werewolf or help it during its transformation and time as a werewolf. I reached for the jar that the herb was kept in, opened the lid, and reached in to grab it.

I hissed and jerked my hand back when the plant began to burn my fingers.

"Ms. Tonks? Is everything all right?" asked Slughorn as he reached my table while on his rounds.

"Uh . . . yeah . . . I accidentally twisted my ankle earlier and I guess I've been standing a bit too long," I lied, reaching for the stool and pulling it toward me and sat down.

Slughorn nodded and walked off, believing my lie like he always did.

I looked at the herb, wondering why it had burned me like that, I wasn't a werewolf even by blood; the only werewolf I knew was Uncle Fenrir and he had certainly never bitten me.

_Don't be ridiculous, there has to be another explanation, so get your act together and finish the damn potion_ I scolded myself, standing up and, using a pair of tongs, I grabbed the plant and dropped it into the potion, stirring it in, and letting it simmer.

I sat down and began cleaning up the scales and unused ingredients, the whole time keeping an eye on the potion in front of me, waiting until the ten minutes were up.

I looked up when I heard girlish laughter coming from up front and I rolled my eyes when I saw Nadine, Jenny, Patricia, and Sarah all laughing together about something that Slughorn had told them. "Spoiled brats," I muttered to myself as I checked the clock again and saw that the ten minutes were up. Grabbing a ladle and one of potion vials, I ladled some of the potion into the vial, cleaned the rim, put the stopper into the opening, and wrote down my name and the name of the potion on the side.

Emptying out the rest of the potion, I cleaned out my cauldron and the ladle and put them away along with my textbook, notebook, inkwell, and quill. I noticed the scrap of parchment McGonagall had given me and decided to take a look at it. Unfolding it, I recognized her neat handwriting as she wrote,

Dear Ms Tonks,

You are to report to the Library in Study Room 3C to meet your tutor at 2 o'clock this afternoon, that will give you both an hour to relax after the last class of the day. Good luck

Professor McGonagall

"So the freak has to have a tutor does she? So what do you need help with? Fashion advice?" asked a female voice from behind me.

"Go suck a dragon egg, Nadine," I growled, folding up the note and stuffing it into my bag.

"Ladies . . ." warned Slughorn.

"Yes sir," she replied and walked off.

I mentally calculated what my chances of escaping this stupid tutoring session were, but found that they weren't good. Even if I did manage to escape, McGonagall would be furious and would very well give me detention for a month. I sighed, resigning myself to the fact that there was no way out of this and that I would have to deal with my usual weekend plans being put off for a couple more hours. _In the meantime, that doesn't mean that I can't pack up my clothes, homework assignments, and anything else I'll need _I thought as Slughorn's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Attention everyone, this week's homework assignment is to do an essay about werewolves; their history, how to recognize a werewolf, how you can become one, and how this potion is crucial to their well-being during the transformation," he said. "It is to be turned in next Friday before class. Thank you and have a great weekend."

I wrote down the homework assignment, glad that thanks to Uncle Fenrir I had my own personal collection of books on werewolves that were always kept up to date, before putting my agenda pad back into my bag and followed everyone else toward the exit. I wanted to hurry up and pack for my weekend vacation away from everyone.

When I reached the tower that led up to Gryffindor tower, I wasn't at all too surprised to see that nearly everyone had decided to come back and drop off their bags and change into their weekend clothes. I was surprised however, to see three of the four Marauders leave without Lupin. _Must have wanted to get started on his homework _I thought and scolded myself for caring. _Why should I care about what he's doing? For all I care he can fail and be held back a year _I scolded myself.

_Maybe it's because he showed you some kindness when he didn't have to _suggested that annoying voice again.

_Oh go suck a dragon egg _I snapped as I followed a group of second years through the portrait hole and up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

_Face it, you've grown soft because he was kind to you, unlike his friends _said the voice.

Oh great, I'm arguing with myself, what's next? I'm gonna start dating a Gryffindor student? _What's worse is . . . I can't tell if I'm winning the argument or that voice is winning _I thought as I passed a couple of seventh years who were talking animatedly about the next Hogsmead trip. I reached the fifth year dorm and opened the door. The spoiled brats weren't around, which was good, and I quickly made work of putting the unnoticeable extension charm on my bag and packed everything I would need for the weekend.

I smiled as I thought about my little getaway room; it was behind the portrait of the goddess, Luna. I'd found it during my first year when I was trying to runaway from Black and his friends. I'd happen upon it by accident when the woman in the portrait noticed my frightened appearance and offered me refuge. Since then I've gone there every weekend to escape the brats and everyone else, as well as work on my schoolwork without worry of the brats or the Marauders stealing it.

I had just finished packing the last of the books I needed for the many essays I had this week when the door opened and in came the brats. I groaned, glad I had finished packing before they showed up.

"Well, well, well Jenny look who we have here," said Nadine sauntering over to her bed and dropping her bag.

"So, going to meet your tutor Freak?" asked Jenny.

"Not that it's any of your business Jenny but at least I'm getting help with one of my subjects," I said, waving my wand and locking everything up into my trunk, using the special lock on it to keep them out. "How did the last Transfiguration class go?"

I didn't need to ask to know how that lesson had gone. We had been learning how to transform an animal into it's opposite so for example, we could have been transfiguring a bird into a cat or a fish, whichever one we envisioned. I had mastered the spell on the first try. Jenny, however had wound up with a half-dog, half-cat creature.

She narrowed her eyes at me and growled.

"Might want to be careful Jenny, you might smear your make-up," I said and walked past her.

I chuckled as I closed the door behind me; it was always easy to get those girls wild-up it wasn't always worth the effort. But when they started the fight, it was always worth the effort.

I walked past everyone who were still in the Common Room and walked out through the portrait hole. I didn't talk to anyone as I made my way to the library to meet up with this tutor; I wasn't exactly excited by the idea of having a tutor, but, hey if it kept me from having to bring home a bad report, it would be worth the effort. _And at least today, all we'll be doing is talking, that will only take a few minutes _I thought as I entered the library to find it mainly occupied by the Ravenclaws, with a few of the more studious students who lived in Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin.

I walked past the main tables until I reached the study rooms. The library was a three story building that had books ranging on every single subject from Beginner to the seriously Advanced. There were also group study rooms and small study rooms for those who were either partners or liked to work with friends. I climbed the stairs until I reached the third level and walked to where the small study rooms were held; the first two were empty but the last one had a single occupant inside of it.

They weren't facing the door so I couldn't tell who it was, but judging by their hair, physical appearance, and their clothes, a t-shirt with a pair of slacks, I knew it was a boy.

I scowled and opened the door, ready to get this meeting done and over with. "Um . . . hey are you the tutor McGonagall assigned me?" I asked uncertainly, standing in the door way.

The boy turned around and I found myself staring into the face of none other than . . .

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" I growled.


	4. Chapter Three

I glared in silence at Lupin as he calmly stared back at me. "Are you serious? She assigned you to be my tutor?" I asked.

"Yeah pretty much, and no I'm not my friend Sirius even though he couldn't be serious even if he tried," said Lupin and pulled out the chair next to him. "Have a seat."

"I'd rather face a werewolf," I replied.

His eyes darkened when I mentioned the werewolf but he didn't say anything about it. "Look, you need help in Defense Against the Dark Arts and I'm one of the best in my class," he said tersely. "So since we already know each other, why don't we spend this hour going over what's difficult for you?"

I growled but sat down in the chair he'd pulled out. "Well since you've talk to McGonagall you should already know," I said.

He shrugged. "Well I know you're having problems being able to perform spells without saying them out loud, but I want to know what you're having trouble with from your point of view, this way it'll be easier for me to help you," he explained patiently.

"Are you going for being a teacher or something?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Sort of, it's one of the careers I'm looking at but don't change the subject," he said. "So . . . tell me what's going on with this class," he said leaning back in the chair, looking totally at ease.

I shrugged. "I follow the instructions and I do what the books and the teacher says, but they still don't come out of the wand," I replied.

He nodded. "Okay, what about your aunt and uncle? How do they perform spells?" he asked.

"What do they have to do with this?" I asked.

"Well because main majority of us learn from watching our parents," he explained. "And sometimes, if our parents don't know how to perform certain spells, we believe that we can't perform those spells as well."

"Okay, well they both can perform spells without a problem," I replied.

He nodded. "Okay, well how do you feel when you perform a spell?" he asked.

"I don't," I replied, wondering where he was getting these ideas.

"Don't what?" he asked.

"I don't feel . . . anything," I replied.

"Well . . . maybe that's the problem," he said and began shuffling through some papers.

"Are you serious?" I asked, incredulous with the realization that he was one of those touchy-feely type of people. The type of people who think that getting in touch with your emotions is what makes you a great witch or wizard; thankfully Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom kicked those emotions out of me a long time ago.

He stared at me with those blue eyes of his. "Yes, Tonks I am serious, our magic is connected to our emotions, and the only way you can perform spells mentally is if you are able to feel," he said. "For example, when you need to defend yourself you will feel defensive, scared, perhaps even angry."

I scoffed. "Okay whatever Dr. Feeling," I said falling back into the chair and began playing with the straps of my bag.

He exhaled. "Look I know you don't like having a tutor but . . ." he began when I interrupted him.

"Actually Lupin it's not just having a tutor, it's having you for a tutor!" I snapped. "What you think just because you agreed to tutor me I would have made it easy for you? In fact, I bet you can't wait to share this news with your so-called friends."

"For your information Nymphadora, they don't even know," he snapped and shook his head. "Why are you being like this?" he adds.

"Gee I don't know, maybe because you and your friends have made my life a living hell ever since I got sorted into this hell-hole," I snapped.

"I've never pulled a prank on you," he said.

"Oh really? Think back to third year and see if you can say that again to my face!" I snapped and stood up, grabbing my bag. "You know what? I don't need your help so I'll tell McGonagall to let you off the hook," I add and walked toward the door.

I had just reached the door when I felt his hand grab my arm; I jerked back and swung around, trying to get my arm out of his grip. "Let go of me!" I shouted.

"No! Listen to me, I seriously don't know what you're talking about, I never pulled a prank on you so I don't know why you're treating me like this!" he said.

"Then let me put it into plain words for you, you can take that touchy-feely crap and drop dead!" I snapped, finally slipping my arm out of his grip and stormed off.

I stared after Tonks as she stormed off, wondering how this simple tutoring session in which we just go over her problems and see how we can go about helping her pass Defense Against the Dark Arts class, to arguing about something that I have no idea what she was talking about. _It happened during her third year, my fifth year. Maybe I can ask around and see what it is she was talking about _I thought. _But first . . . I'll talk to Professor McGonagall and tell her what happened. Perhaps she can switch me with Lily; Tonks might feel a bit better being tutored with a girl and last time I knew, they didn't have any animosity between them._

I looked at my watch to see that it was 2:30pm. I knew at this time, McGonagall would be in her office, grading papers or doing her own research. I gathered up my books and notebooks into my bag and walked out of the study room and down the stairs toward the exit of the library.

I nodded to Madame Pince before I left and walked toward McGonagall's office.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin how are you today?" asked Professor Dumbledore as I turned around the corner on my way toward McGonagall's office.

"Hello Professor," I replied. "I'm not doing too great today actually."

"Ah . . . I assume you've just had your first session with Ms. Tonks today?" he asked, giving me a knowing look over the rim of his half-moon glasses.

"Yeah . . . how'd you know?" I asked, wondering if some of Sirius' conspiracies about the Headmaster were true.

He chuckled. "Mr. Lupin I am the Headmaster of this fine school, I personally make it my duty to know everything that is going on around the castle," he said.

"Makes sense, sir," I replied.

"Why don't we go for a walk, Mr. Lupin?" he suggested and started walking in the opposite direction I had been going in.

I moaned to myself but followed him down the corridor, walking a bit fast so as to catch up with him, before matching my stride to his.

We walked in silence for awhile, neither one of us saying a word. I didn't mind it, after spending twenty-four hours with my friends, any amount of time spent in silence was heaven to my ears. Not only that, but it was because of him that I could even attend Hogwarts in the first place; nobody likes people like me, and they definitely don't like having to take all of the precautions that he has put into place for me to attend Hogwarts.

We continued walking until we reached the the courtyard and I asked the question that'd been bothering me since yesterday.

"Professor . . . if you knew that McGonagall had asked me to tutor Tonks, why was I chosen? Wouldn't she have felt better with a female tutor? Perhaps Lily could do it from now on? I know those two had once been somewhat close," I suggested.

He didn't say anything at first and I thought that perhaps he wouldn't bother to answer me. Or was he going to give me some kind of cryptic answer?

"It is true that having a female tutor would have made it easy for Ms. Tonks," he said. "However, there is a much deeper reason why we have assigned for you to tutor her, Mr. Lupin. As you've probably noticed, she's not exactly pleased that she's been sorted into Gryffindor; Professor McGonagall and I are hoping that you two can work things out and perhaps help her start to trust others besides yourself."

"But she says that I did something to her two years ago, but I have no idea what she's even talking about," I replied. "And since she won't tell me what happened and I obviously have no idea what's going on, how can I help her and work things out?" Man, I sound like a five year old again.

He smiled. "The answer to that, Mr. Lupin, will all come in time, all in due time," he said and left, leaving me feeling more confused than before our conversation.


	5. Chapter Four

I kept muttering to myself as I walked toward Luna's portrait. "How dare he pretend to not know anything about that year! How dare he try to preach to me about my inner feelings and all that other bull crap! I thought that Potter was an egotistical maniac, but apparently Lupin is too!" I grumbled as I walked past several Ravenclaws who were talking to Professor Flitwick about some homework assignments.

"Hey, watch where you're going Freak!" yelled one of the girls.

I shot her my death glare before I finally turned to walk down the corridor that Luna's portrait was in.

"Well hello there, Tonks, and how was your week?" the beautiful goddess asked as I stopped in front of her portrait.

"Horrible, as usual," I replied. "And it just got worse today."

"Oh, well Perry cleaned up in here and put in fresh clean sheets, she also banked up the fire so that you can ask for food and drink," she said, trying to cheer me up. It started to work. "Also, if you will give me a couple of minutes, I'll finish this poem and join you for a cup of tea."

I smiled. "All right," I replied as her portrait swung forward, allowing me to enter.

She was right, when she said that Perry had made sure that everything was fresh and clean; when I had first come here in my first year, the room was dusty and the air was stale. But with some TLC, and a lot of elbow grease, I got the room to look brand new and that fit my style. I hadn't known that the fireplace was connected to the kitchen until I had wished out loud that there was a better way of getting to the kitchens for some food when suddenly the flames in the fireplace had changed to green and suddenly Perry's head appeared in the flames.

Since then, Perry and I had an agreement; since I couldn't come here everyday to keep up with the maintenance of the place, I would be allowed to use it, as long as I didn't tell anyone else about it and Perry would keep it clean. Which was fine by me since I didn't have anyone else to talk to or hang out.

I placed my bag on the desk and began to change into my usual attire of a shirt and a pair jeans and swept my hair up into a ponytail.

"Hello Miss," said a small, female voice coming from the direction of the fireplace.

I turned in that direction to see Perry's face dancing among the flames. "Watcher Perry, and how are you today?" I asked.

"Peachy, unfortunately one of the house-elves is sick and I've had to cover for him, so I can't really hang out with you today," she said.

I chuckled. "Don't worry, Perry, if you want to, why don't you come here tonight when your shift is over?" I suggested.

"Well . . . if you don't mind, Miss . . ." began Perry following the traditional house-elf manner of being unsure of where she stood in our relationship.

"I don't mind, Perry, we're friends, so of course I would also like to hear how your week has been," I replied.

"Okay, I get off at eight, see you then," she said. "By the way, before I go, would you like a snack before dinner?"

"Sure, some tea, biscuits, and whatever pastries are left over would be nice," I replied.

"Okay, coming right up," she said and disappeared.

I chuckled and straightened up to see that Luna had finished her poem and was sitting in one of the paintings that held a tea garden. It was one of my favorites and I'd often imagined that I was sitting there with her, wearing one of those old-fashioned dresses that she wore.

"So we'll wait until your tea has arrived and we shall have us a chat," she said, pouring herself a cup of hot, brown liquid into a porcelain cup.

I sat down at the small oak table that I always ate at and patiently waited until the bell rang and suddenly a small round platter with the tea things appeared in the flames. I stood up and walked toward the fireplace; I reached into the flames for the platter and stepped back, my hands gripping tightly onto the platter to keep the platter from falling.

I set the platter down and began making my afternoon cup of tea the way I like it.

Once I had butter a biscuit and had taken a sip of my tea, Luna began talking.

"So, what happened from the time you left here, Monday, till today?" she asked.

"Well, I'm still having problems with DADA, the Marauders have been pulling their usual antics, Lily's still trying to be my friend, Slughorn's still wanting me to join his stupid Slug Club; and if that's not bad enough, Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom are still pressuring me about being in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, Dumbledore still won't change his mind, and today, McGonagall said I need a tutor and set me up with one for three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," I complained, feeling a bit better as I let everything out that had been building up for the past week.

"Wow, sounds like you've had a busy week," she replied, taking a sip of her tea. "I don't see what's wrong with having a tutor, at least she'll be able to help you with your problems with performing spells mentally instead of verbally."

"The problem's not really with having a tutor, it's who the tutor is," I explained.

"Oh? Then who is the tutor?" she asked.

"Lupin," I replied, growling a bit when I said his name.

"Oh . . . I see . . ." she replied. "So, you don't like having a tutor because of who is assigned to be your tutor?" she asked, making sure she had it right.

I nodded as I bit into a biscuit. "I don't know what McGonagall and Dumbledore were thinking, assigning him as my tutor," I said.

"Well, maybe this will be a good chance for you two to patch things up?" she suggested. "I mean, it's been two years since that incident in third year, maybe he's changed since then?"

I scoffed. "I doubt it, you know he and his friends tried to pull a prank on me at lunchtime?" I asked.

"And how did that turn out?" she asked.

"McGonagall stepped in," I replied stirring my tea absentmindedly. "Luna, why do you think the Marauders pick on me?" I asked.

"Well . . ." she began, chuckling. "Usually when a boy picks on a girl it means he loves her."

"Ew!" I said. "1. I don't have feelings for any of those jerks whatsoever, 2. Black is my cousin once removed, 3. Potter is dating Evans, and 4. Gross!"

She chuckled. "Well how does Mr. Lupin act around you?" she asked.

I stopped and thought for a second. While it was true that he mainly stayed off to the side when it came to playing practical jokes on me, he usually did that with every prank. _But that still doesn't excuse what he did two years ago _I thought stubbornly.

She smiled at my silence, but didn't say anything.

We finished our tea in silence and she went back to whatever she usually did during the day, while I took my tea over to the desk and set down to get my homework done. I decided to get the essays done first and pulled out my Herbology assignment first, since it was due on Monday.

Three hours later, I had the Herbology, Transfiguration, and Astronomy essays done and the ink was dried.

"Hello, Miss," said Perry's voice.

I turned around to see her coming out of the fireplace with a tray in her hands. "Hey Perry," I said, looking at the clock to see that it was almost six o'clock. "I wasn't expecting you so early," I add closing my books on Astronomy and putting them away.

She smiled. "The Head House-Elf told me to take an hour for a break before I wore myself out," she explained and sat down. "So I thought I'd bring you some dinner."

I smiled and sat down in the chair at the table as she set down the plate, the bowl, the silverware, and a goblet with a pitcher. I sniffed appreciatively. "Smells wonderful, my compliments to the chef," I said, picking up the pitcher and poured myself a glass of pumpkin juice before picking up the fork and began to eat the corn. "So, how was your week, Perry?" I asked as she sat down in the other chair.

She sighed in relief. "Busy, that's for sure," she replied. "Apparently, some of the students have been growing like a weed. We've had to cook more food than usual as of late."

I raised my right hand. "I swear, I'm not one of them," I said before dropping my hand and grabbed the small bowl of salad dressing and poured it over my salad. "You said that one of the House-Elves was sick, Perry?" I asked.

She nodded. "Poor Marble, came down with the flu this morning," she explained. "He'll be out for a week at the most."

"I remember him, so it's just the flu then? Nothing serious?" I asked.

She nodded. "He'll be right as rain within a week, but Professor Dumbledore has already told Madame Pomfrey to make sure he's perfectly healthy before he's allowed to come back to work," she explained. "He's already worrying himself into a stitch because he can't work. No matter what Professor Dumbledore says, we House-Elves are meant to work, and work we shall."

I nodded, having already heard this several times before. Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom had several house-elves to cook, clean, and do the general upkeep of the manor back home. I knew how to do general housework, since while at Hogwarts, I had to do my own laundry and such, but it still felt weird when I came home during the holidays and the House-Elves did all of the work.

We continued to chat while I ate my dinner and, before I knew it, Perry's break was over and she had to get back to work. She took the tray with her and I walked back to the desk to get some more work done before I showered and headed for bed.

I decided to work on the Potions essay, since it would at least work my mind harder so that I could fall asleep easily. I pulled out all of the books I had on werewolves, pulled out some parchment, and picked up my quill before dipping it into the inkwell.

"'Werewolves, an essay by Nymphadora Tonks'," I said as I wrote, cringing when I said my first name. Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom had done everything they could to change my name when they had found me, unfortunately, because of my magic, the name stuck, which was the reason why I preferred to be called by my last name instead of by my first name.

Twenty minutes later I had written a good portion of the essay on the history of the werewolves, as well as how to recognize them. When I got to the book on how to become one, I cried out when a sharp pain in my right shoulder flared up, causing me to drop the book as I grabbed my shoulder in an attempt to ease the pain with pressure.

No such luck.

"Tonks are you okay?" asked Luna's voice. "Shall I get the nurse?"

"No!" I cried out, gritting my teeth until the pain slowly started to fade away. I loosened my grip on my shoulder and started to relax my posture as the pain went away.

"Are you all right, my dear?" she asked, her tone soothing and worried, completely different that Aunt Bella's usual tone of voice.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened, I was fine but when I picked up one of my books, I . . . felt this burning pain in my shoulder," I replied, looking at the book in question, wondering what on earth was going on. First my shoulder began to hurt when Lupin touched me, then I got burned when I touched that herb, Wolfsbane, and now this? What in the world was wrong with me?

"Perhaps you should see Madame Pomfrey," Luna suggested. "It could be you injured it and it's just now flaring up."

"No . . . no I'm fine, I'll finish this essay tomorrow, perhaps I'm overworked and tired, and my body's just giving me the big sign to tell me to call it quits for the night," I replied, closing all of my books, and setting them up into a nice neat pile for tomorrow.

"Okay . . . if you're sure . . ." she replied, not sounding too sure herself.

I smiled. "Don't worry, I'm going to get ready for bed," I replied, grabbing my bag of toiletries and a nightshirt, and walked toward the bathroom.

_I was running. I don't know where I was running, but it felt as though I was running to save someone._ But who? Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom know how to handle themselves; and certainly Uncle Fenrir knows how to defend himself against an enemy, especially on a full moon _I thought, wondering who exactly I was running to save and yet, dreading the answer which lay ahead of me._

_ I looked around at my surroundings to see that I was in a forest, a pretty huge, thick forest with trees as far as the eye could see. I looked toward the sky to see that it was completely blocked by the tops of the threes, their branches spreading out, creating an arch-like canopy above my head. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I could glimpse a few shafts of moonlight so bright, it was almost like daylight. _Which means it must be on the night of the full moon _I thought and found my feet practically digging into the soft ground, trying to get my destination faster._

_ But what destination is it?_

_ I kept a sharp ear out for anything that even remotely sounded suspicious. A forest may look innocent enough on the outside, but on the inside . . . well . . . let's just say anything could be living in a forest._

_ I kept running, hoping that the end of this would come soon and I would see whoever I was searching for._

_ Suddenly, at the end of the path, I saw a break in the trees and I sighed in relief, hoping that it was my destination. _Oh thank goodness _I thought and, with renewed energy, I picked up the pace and quickly covered what distance that was left to the treeline._

_ When I broke away from the trees, I slowed down to a stop and bent over, my hands clasped over my knees, to catch my breath._

_ Once my heart rate had slowed down to a normal rate, I straightened and took in my surroundings._

_ I was in the middle of a clearing, the trees surrounding it all around, creating a circle of some sort; the full moon shone down from the night sky and I basked in its light for a moment before taking a look around again. I hadn't noticed it before, but the clearing actually had a cottage that shone with warm light._

Good, maybe someone's home and can help me get back to the castle _I thought and walked toward it._

_ I had gotten about halfway there when a twig snapping caught my attention and I spun around to find the source of the noise._

_ There was no one._

_ "Hello?" I asked, hoping that perhaps the owner of the cottage had been outside and was just coming back from collecting wood or something. "Is anyone there? Hello?"_

_ No one answered._

_ "I've lost my way and I was hoping that perhaps you could help me get back to my school," I explained, hoping that the owner was also a witch or a wizard and not some muggle that I was going to have to explain everything to and then obliviate their memories afterward._

_ Still no one answered and I was beginning to feel panic begin to set in. Exactly who owned this cottage? Was it somebody who was nice and normal? Or . . . was it some crazed ax-murderer?_

_ A twig snapped behind and I spun around to come face-to-face with . . ._

_ "Oh my God!" I screamed and backed away quickly, hoping that what I was seeing was nothing more and nothing less then my imagination._

_ For what was right in front of me was none other than a werewolf._

_ And what made it worse was that this was not Uncle Fenrir, but was indeed a strange, angry, and VERY scary werewolf._

_ It growled at me, baring fangs that were about as long as my fingers; it was a sandy-brown color, completely different from Uncle Fenrir's black coloring._

_ "Nice doggy, nice werewolf, you don't want to bite me," I said, trying to sound calm when, inside me, I was shaking like a leaf during a storm._

_ The werewolf sauntered toward me, sniffing the air taking in my scent._

_ "Seriously, I'm nothing but skin and bone . . . I even have hair on my arms . . ." I began, trying to think of ways that would keep that thing from biting me._

_ He snarled at me and I turned back around and ran._

_ Hearing the footfalls that were coming from behind me, I knew that the werewolf was chasing after me and I scolded myself for being so stupid. _Yeah, you only have two legs, while it has four legs, plus it's a creature, so it has more agility then you do!

Oh shut up, you're not helping the situation _I snapped at my other self._

_ I had just passed a withered old oak tree when suddenly I felt a huge weight on top of my back, knocking me down to the ground hard, and knocking the air of out of my lungs when I landed. As I lay there, gasping for air, I looked up to see the werewolf sauntering forward to kill me. "Please . . ." I gasped out, however it was for nothing, as the werewolf lunged right at me._

I sat up in bed, breathing heavily and sweating bullets down my face and back. Looking around, I almost didn't recognize anything, but a few seconds later, I recognized the soft glow of the fireplace and instantly knew that I was in my secret room at Hogwarts.

I took a deep breath of relief and got into a more comfortable position, running my hand over my face, wiping the sweat off my brow.

I looked at the clock on my bed: 12:50am.

_Damn I must have been more stressed then I thought_ I said to myself and laid back down.

A few minutes later, I was still awake and couldn't sleep, so I decided to do something productive and got up and walked toward my desk to work on that Potions essay, Slughorn wanted.

I picked up the book, glad that what had happened yesterday evening didn't happen again, and I began to read how someone can become a werewolf.

_ There are several ways to become a werewolf; one way, which is the most effective and sure way of becoming a werewolf, is that the victim is bitten by a werewolf on the night of a full moon. Many a researcher has asked the question of how and why the full moon affects the victim, but none can answer the question without personal opinions being the foundation of fact. Another way is through becoming an animagus, which is transforming into an animal willingly._

_ Many victims have stated that when they feel the full moon rising, they feel their heartbeats quicken, their blood rushing as though they had just finished exercising, while some have even said that they have felt a painful, burning sensation all over their body. Anamagi have recorded not feeling these sensations, nor have researchers have seen or recorded any changes to the human body other than the physical transformation._

I wrote down the information, cited the source, and continued reading, until I came upon one paragraph that stopped me dead in my reading.

_While many werewolves have chosen to live a life of solitude, never marrying or even having children, research has shown that those who live alone with no spouse or family, generally live shorter lives with many health problems and stress. While those who have found a "mate", have lived a longer, healthier life. However, wolves mate for life, in the case of werewolves, this applies to them as well; for a werewolf to find a mate is something that is unanimous. Both partners have a deeper, passionate love that goes far beyond anything we have ever seen. It's almost like the tale of Beauty and the Beast, a woman who is beautiful in the eyes of her husband and a werewolf that is seen as nothing more than a monster._

_ Those who are destined to become the werewolf's mate are generally different than everyone else around them; they have a more caring attitude, they generally are liberal, taking no side but instead acting as the mediator. They're also marked with a symbol on their wand hand's shoulder and, while it usually shows the same symbol, depending on whether it's a male or a female werewolf, the symbol can either be a wolf's head with a wand, representing a male werewolf; or a wolf's head with a rose, representing a female wolf._

_They're marked with a symbol on their wand hand's shoulder? Huh . . . that sounds pretty cool actually; but being more caring then those around them or acting as a mediator? No thanks _I thought and put a hand on my right shoulder. No one could explain what the birthmark meant. Aunt Bella thought it was because of my muggle father's heritage, she never did like muggle-borns and she made sure that I excelled at everything so as to make up for being only a half-blood.

But . . . according to this book, the birthmark represented that my future husband would be a werewolf.

_Oh come off it, Tonks, like these things even really happen. It even says in the book that it's the tale of Beauty and the Beast and who would ever believe that anyone could love a werewolf _I thought and began working on the essay.

An hour later, I had finished both the rough draft and the final draft and decided to turn in to get some more sleep.

As I lay on the bed, under the covers, I thought about the weird day I had been having and chalked it all up to stress.

_Yeah, that's what it was . . . stress _I thought before sleep consumed me.


	6. Chapter Five

The weekend passed by in a blur. Thankfully I'd only had that one nightmare and I'd gotten my homework finished on Sunday morning after breakfast. I'd progressed a little bit on being able to cast spells with my mind; while I still hadn't been able to cast a spell, I had been able to shoot a thin stream of light at the practice target. Luna and Perry were cheerful and Perry even snuck some mint chocolate fudge down on Sunday night to me.

When Monday dawned wet and cold, I knew that today would not be a good day; especially since I also had Transfiguration today.

After a breakfast of porridge and toast, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the portrait hole and headed toward Transfiguration.

I was the first one there and, when I tried the doorknob and the door opened, I walked into the classroom to see Professor McGonagall copying down the notes needed for the lesson. "Morning Professor," I greeted.

"Good morning, Ms. Tonks, how was your weekend?" she asked.

I shrugged. "It was all right, I'd gotten all of my homework done, got ahead on some personal reading, other than that, I just enjoyed being by myself," I explained heading toward her desk.

She nodded and finished copying down the last note before putting the chalk down and turning around to face me. "Mr. Lupin told me about the tutoring session last Friday," she said, her tone telling me that she did not approve of my behavior.

"Oh yeah? What did he say?" I asked, wondering if he had told her the truth or if he had lied to her.

"He said that you two didn't get much done and that you had been resistant to his questions," she replied. "Also he had suggested that perhaps asking Ms. Evans to tutor you would make it more easier for you to accept that you need help."

"And . . . what did you say?" I asked.

"I told him exactly what Professor Dumbledore told him before he came to my office, that there was a reason why we chose for Mr. Lupin to be your tutor and you had best get used to seeing him more than usual," she replied. "So I suggest you buckle down your pride, change your attitude, and meet Mr. Lupin in Study Room 3C today at three o'clock."

"But Professor . . ." I began.

"Three o'clock," she replied sternly, looking at me over her glasses.

I exhaled angrily and stormed off to my seat, wanting so badly to throw a dozen curses at the Professor right then and there; but I quickly stomped down on them, not wanting to get in trouble for cursing a professor at Hogwarts.

I reached my seat and dropped my bag down onto the desk and plopped down onto my seat, taking out my textbook, notebook, inkwell, and quill. I couldn't believe that she wouldn't even listen to reason! Seriously? I wouldn't have minded if Lily was the one to tutor me but why . . . would they stick me with Lupin?

_Perhaps they know something that you don't _suggested that annoying voice.

_Oh piss off _I told it.

_Oh . . . why?When messing with you is so much fun _it said.

I growled and began writing down the notes that were on the chalk board.

A few minutes later, the rest of the class began to filter into the classroom and by that time I had already copied down the notes and was waiting for the lesson to begin.

After Transfiguration, I had Arithmancy and Ancient Runes before lunch; and, after that, it was double Herbology before I had an hour to myself and I would be forced to go to my tutoring session with Lupin.

After Herbology was over, I walked back up to the castle after cleaning my station, and walked back up to Gryffindor tower to take a shower and change.

I had just entered the Entrance Hall when a voice called out to me.

"Hey Tonks, wait up!"

I turned around to see Lily Evans jogging toward me. "Watcher Lily, what's up?" I asked. Even though we weren't really friends, she was the only one who was even remotely nice to me so I tried to be nice to her in return.

"There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up, I was wondering if you wanted to go?" she asked when we were close enough to talk without having to shout.

"Uh . . . sure, but . . . don't you want to go with Potter?" I asked.

"Well . . . they'll be there, but I thought . . ." she began.

"Thought what?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well . . . I thought you would like to join us?" she replied.

"On a date? No offense, but I'd feel like a third wheel," I said about to turn around and go up the grand staircase, when her voice stopped me.

"Well no . . . it's not a date really, Sirius, Peter, and Remus will also be there, along with a girl that Sirius has been wanting to get to know," she replied, stopping me in my tracks. "Peter and Remus are just tagging along because they wanted to go and I thought, if you had nothing else planned, maybe you would like to join us?"

I thought about it. I always loved the Hogsmeade trips and I had always gone to stock up on Honeydukes sweets, visit the Three Broomsticks, and gone to the various shops throughout the village. I usually went by myself or, if Lily had asked, I'd gone with her; but to go with her and the Marauders and some girl I didn't even know? I wasn't too sure about it.

"When is the trip?" I asked.

"On Halloween, classes are being canceled as a special treat," she replied. "So . . . do you want to come?"

I sighed. It was Lily asking and, even if the Marauders and I didn't get along, she hadn't done anything to deserve the animosity between myself and the boys. "Sure," I replied.

She smiled. "Great, I'll meet you in the Common Room before breakfast," she said. "It'll also give us a chance to talk and get to know the girl Sirius is interested in. See you later."

I stared after her as she jogged off up the stairs and shook my head. Lily really had changed since she'd started dating Potter. Before, she had been a bit tight-lipped and had always adhered to the rules, when she became a Prefect in her fifth year, she had taken her responsibilities seriously. However, last year, for reasons still unknown to me, she had finally broken down and accepted Potter's request for a date. Ever since then, they've been dating and getting a bit more serious about their relationship.

I continued on my walk toward the Gryffindor tower.

A half hour later, I had dropped off my schoolbag and emptied out my bag and put everything away, I had showered, brushed my hair, and changed into some jeans and a t-shirt, and filled my bag with my Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff and headed down toward the library.

When I entered the library, I found that it was packed more than usual by the older students and those who took their studies seriously; I passed the Ravenclaws, the Hufflepuffs, and some Gryffindor and Slytherin students before I finally reached the study rooms and climbed the stairs toward Study Room 3C.

Inside, I found Remus hard at work on his own homework and I knocked on the door to get his attention.

He looked and motioned with his hand for me to enter the room, before he began putting his own studies away as I opened the door and walked into the room. "Hello," he said, leaning back into the chair he was sitting on, looking casual and relaxed.

I grunted in way of greeting as I set my bag down on the table, I pulled out the second chair, and sat down. I leaned back in the chair with one leg crossed and my arms crossed across my stomach.

He sighed. "Look . . . I did try to get you switched to another tutor, but for reasons even unknown to me, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall said no and that they think this will be good for the both of us, so let's at least try to make use of the time we have to help you," he said and leaned forward to look through his bag, and pulled out a three-ring binder.

"What's that?" I asked.

"This is a study sheet of all of the spells you've learned so far," he explained and opened the binder to the first page. "I thought we'd start off by saying the spells out loud in First Year and then practice them mentally before moving on to Second Year."

"So . . . basically you want me to relearn spells I've already learned and mastered?" I asked incredulously, wondering where this guy got off on treating me like a kid.

He held up his hand in a peace-making gesture. "It's not what you think; I know you've already mastered these spells, but I figured if we can start off with the spells you've already mastered, we can get a good foundation for when you master saying the spells mentally," he explained.

I sighed and rolled my eyes but resigned myself to it. "All right, which one do you we start with?" I asked.

"We'll start with Flipendo," he said and stood up, grabbing a vase and placing it on the table next to me. "Come over here," he adds.

I sighed and walked over to where he stood, grateful the room was somewhat good-sized and we had enough room for me to put space between us. "Okay . . . now what?" I asked.

"Cast Flipendo on that vase," he replied.

I lifted my wand and waved it at the vase. "Flipendo!" I cried out.

A stream of light-blue light shot out from the tip of my wand and hit the vase, shattering it into pieces.

I turned to see him wave his wand and the vase repaired itself. "Any other bright ideas, genius?" I asked.

"How did you feel when you cast that spell?" he asked.

"How did I feel?" I asked, looking at him as though he had just grown an extra head.

"Did you feel powerful? Angry?" he asked.

"How about . . . annoyed and ready to beat someone's brain in?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Well that works too, try to feel those emotions again only this time, try to not say the spell out loud," he replied.

I groaned and turned back to the vase. I waved my wand and tried to recall the feeling of being annoyed and about ready to beat someone's head in, preferably Lupin's. _Flipendo_ I thought, hoping that this time, the spell would work.

A small spark of light-blue light appeared at the tip of my wand; but, just like last night when I tried it, it did nothing more than flick a spark and then died out.

I groaned out loud. "Well that was resourceful," I yelled and turned to look at him to see him smirking. "What's so funny? Do you always smile when something like what you just suggested goes wrong?"

"Actually, I knew that would happen," he said calmly.

"What? And yet you . . " I began but he held up his hand.

"Let me explain, please?" he asked.

I took a deep breathe and tried to calm down, even thought I wanted nothing more than bash his head into the wall behind him.

"The problem isn't that you can't perform a spell, it's that you're experiencing the wrong emotions while performing the spell," he explained. "For example, feeling annoyed and wanting to beat someone's head in won't work for a spell like Flipendo; annoyed is an emotion but it's not a powerful emotion to cast a spell. With Flipendo, depending on what you're casting the spell at, you should feel . . . angry or calm but with the need to do something constructive." He glanced at me. "Are you following what I'm saying?"

"Yeah but you do realize that I have no emotions whatsoever?" I asked.

"I doubt that very much," he replied and moved to lean against the wall behind him. "You must feel something."

"Well I'm angry that I'm stuck in a house that everyone seems to think I wanted to be in, I'm angry that my parents abandoned me when I was just a baby," I replied, thinking of the top two in my head. "Oh and the fact that up until this year I was at the top of my class when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts and now I'm not. Oh . . . and also too, you and your group of so-called friends."

He scratched the back of his head. "Okay, sounds like you've got a lot of anger built up inside of you," he said.

"Yeah . . . so?" I asked, feeling even more annoyed as time went by.

"My concern right now is that you've got so much anger pent up inside of you that it could be the reason why you're not able to perform spells," he replied. "Anger is fine to hold against people, when it's deserved. My suggestion to you would be to use that anger for this spell and release it through the spell."

"How?" I asked.

He pushed himself away from the wall and came to stand behind me. He put his hands on my own and gently pulled my body into an offensive position; the birthmark on my shoulder starting to heat up at his touch. "Stand like this, move your wand hand like this, and now, concentrate on what makes you angry the most," he said, his breath warm against my neck. He was a good six feet, a few inches taller than my small frame.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on what made me angry the most; I decided to go with the fact that everyone seems to think that I'm in Gryffindor because I wanted to, so that I could make fun of them by supporting Slytherin. "All right, what now?" I asked.

"Now, form the spell in your mind, form the symbol for Flipendo and when you connect the spell to your anger, let it go," he explained, letting go of my hand.

I envisioned the symbol for Flipendo in my mind and imagined the memory of the disastrous Sorting Ceremony in my first year at the very center of the symbol. _Flipendo!_

The sound of breaking porcelain brought me back to reality and I opened my eyes to see the pieces of the vase either settling onto the table and chairs or dropping to the floor.

I smiled. "I did it!" I said happily.

He smiled and nodded. "Good," he replied and waved his wand, repairing the vase again. "Let's try it again shall we?"

I nodded and closed my eyes, envisioning the Flipendo symbol again, only this time, I envisioned the picture of my parents at the center of the symbol. _Flipendo!_

No success.

I opened my eyes. "What?" I asked exasperated. "Why didn't it work this time?"

"What memory did you choose the first time?" he asked calmly.

"The day I was sorted into Gryffindor," I replied.

"And this time?" he asked.

I hesitated a bit before I answered. "A picture of my parents," I replied.

He stared at me a bit with those piercing blue eyes of his before speaking. "Why do you hate your parents so much?" he asked.

"They abandoned me when I was a baby and my Aunt Bella and Uncle Tom raised me," I replied, giving the short version of it.

"Well shouldn't you be happy that they left you in the care of your aunt and uncle? I mean they could have left you at an orphanage when you were born or left you to die," he replied.

"Look, I don't want to get into it, okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "Fair enough, some secrets are best left unsaid," he replied. "Now, since that memory doesn't work, why don't you focus on another memory? Or . . . perhaps stick with the one you chose the first time just for now. As we grow older we gain more and more memories that, depending on what happened, may be either good or bad."

I nodded and closed my eyes, envisioning the day I was sorted into Gryffindor with better results.

We tried it a couple of more times with me being able to not only blast the vase but also to push the table back against the wall before we called it quits.

"It's always a good idea to end the lesson on a good note," he said. "Not only that but I'm sure you have some homework as do I and it's almost dinner time."

I nodded as we packed up our bags and left the study room.

We didn't talk much as we walked along the castle toward the Great Hall. Most of the students were also leaving, wanting to have a good meal after all of the Monday courses.

As we reached the Great Hall, a voice called out from the Gryffindor table.

"Hey Mooney!"

We both turned to see Pettigrew standing up and waving his arms above his head to get Lupin's attention.

"I'd better go, see you Wednesday?" he asked.

I nodded and watched as he walked toward his friends. "Hey uh . . . Lupin," I called out quietly, almost too quiet for a normal person to hear, but dang it if he didn't stop and turn around. "Thanks," I said.

He nodded. "No problem," he replied and walked toward his usual seat between Black and Pettigrew.

I sighed as I watched them playfully greet each other as boys so often did. It suddenly dawned on me what Professor McGonagall had said, that I had spent the last four years wasting my time being angry about my situation and not doing something more productive, like making friends.

_Friendship is for the weak. You will never get anywhere having friends or knowing about that family crap _said Uncle Tom's voice.

I scoffed and shook my head. _What was I thinking? Uncle Tom is right, you don't need friends or family to be strong _I thought. _All I need is myself and to follow Uncle Tom's orders._

_ But are you sure that he's right_ asked that annoying voice again.

_You again? What do you want _I asked angrily as I walked toward an empty seat at the end of the table and sat down.

_Oh nothing much, I was just asking a simple question is all _the voice replied. _So are you sure he's right about what he said?_

_ How should I know? He's the adult not me _I replied as food and pumpkin juice appeared on the plate and in the goblet.

_Just because he's the adult doesn't mean he's right _said the voice.

_Oh will you piss off already _I asked.

_All right, just remember what I said _it replied and vanished.

I shake my head as I picked up my fork and began eating the mashed potatoes. _Great, I'm hearing a voice inside my head and I'm starting to soften up somehow _I thought. _Fantastic, when did this year decide to be so different than the previous four?_

_ When you were failing Defense Against the Dark Arts and needed a tutor _said the voice.

_Will you get out of here?! _

I swear, I heard the voice running away, laughing at me. _Okay, time to check in with Madame Pomfrey and check to see if I have any sanity left _I muttered to myself and went back to eating my dinner.

"Hey Mooney where were you earlier mate?" asked Sirius as I sat down between him and Peter and set down my bag.

"I told you Padfoot, I'm tutoring a fifth year three days a week remember?" I asked as food appeared on my plate and the goblet filled up with pumpkin juice.

"Oh right, hey by the way, when are you gonna tell us about this fifth year?" asked Sirius.

I shook my head. "She's really embarrassed about needing a tutor, Padfoot, it'll just make it worse if I go spreading around about who she is," I replied, grabbing the roll and buttering it with my knife.

"Ah-hah, so it's going to be that way is it?" he asked, mischievously. "Are you going to be sweet on her?"

I shot him a glare. "You know full well why I won't date Padfoot," I replied tersely.

"Mooney you have to at least try don't you?" asked James.

"Oh thanks Prongs, who's side are you on anyways?" I asked.

"No one's, but it's not healthy for a guy your age to not date," replied James. "Take for example Tonks; this is her fifth year and she has not made one single friend, not one. Do you think it's healthy for her? No, but she won't give anyone a chance."

"Well no offense Prongs but if you had an aunt like the one she's got you wouldn't want to be friends with her either," said Sirius.

Peter scoffed beside me. "That's for sure," he muttered in agreement.

"Wormtail you don't even know who her aunt is, and besides what if she's afraid of getting close to anyone?" I asked, standing up for her. After today I had gotten a pretty good view of just what Tonks was feeling and, I'll admit, I was starting to feel guilty about not having seen it sooner and trying to help her when she obviously needed it.

"Since when did you start defending my cousin?" asked Sirius.

"I just think that we shouldn't judge her based on her family's reputation as well as your memories of her," I replied.

"You do remember what she and her "lovely" aunt said to me after I was sorted into Gryffindor right?" he asked.

I sighed. "Yes, I do remember Padfoot but that was seven years ago, it's time to move on," I replied, remembering the Howler that Sirius' whole family had sent and basically humiliated the poor guy in front of everyone. Saying how he disgraced the family and such by being sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.

He scoffed. "Yeah right, she'll never change no matter what," he replied and took a swig of his pumpkin juice, draining it all in one gulp. "I'm heading out, I got homework to do."

"You want some company?" asked James.

"No, I'm fine," he replied,but the look in his eyes said that he was the complete opposite of fine as he stalked out of the Great Hall.

I sighed and shook my head, going back to eating my dinner. No matter what the guys said, I was still going to keep the fact that I was tutoring Tonks a secret until she decided it was okay to tell everyone. And from that point on, I vowed to try to gain her trust so that her last two years here would be more fun than her last four.

_I was running, or . . . well I was loping as would be the case since I was in my werewolf form. _But . . . wait a minute, if I'm a werewolf, why am I able to form coherent thoughts? Normally all I care about is blood and having fun with my friends _I thought as I loped around the special clearing the guys and I had found in our fifth year. The cottage made it even better since we can usually skip class and sneak off to the Forest with James' invisibility cloak and sleep during the day so we're rested at night._

_ I howled out, calling to my friends. _Hey guys you'll never believe this! I can actually form a thought in my head! And no Padfoot I'm not talking about ripping someone's throat out; but an actual thought!

_There was no reply from anyone as I loped around the clearing, trying to find my friends; but they were nowhere in sight. _Guys? Where are you?

_The sound of running feet reached my ears and I moved my head from side-to-side, trying to put a name to the resounding footfalls. _They're notthick and heavy as Peter would be if he was human, nor were they James' hooves in his animagus form. And no matter how much of a hurry Sirius is in, he never sounds that light _I thought and ran behind the cottage so as not to scare anyone._

_ A few seconds later, a small figure ran out of the treeline and I instantly recognized the purple hair of Tonks._

Tonks? What is she doing here _I asked myself and felt a stirring inside of my chest. _Oh no, no, no please not now.

_"Hello? Is anyone here?" she asked, walking toward the cottage, taking everything about the clearing in. The look on her face saying that she thought it was beautiful._

_ I growled low in my throat, unheard by her obviously, and turned to walk around to the other side of the cottage. _No please stop! She's innocent, she didn't do anything wrong _I pleaded._

_ Yeah well neither did you when you were bitten _said the wolf inside of me. _Besides, she's fair game._

No please _I begged as I felt myself move swiftly and quietly to stand behind her. That's when I stepped on the twig and she gasped, spinning around. Her eyes widened at the sight of me._

Tonks run _I yelled, trying to stop my body from acting on it's own. I was hoping that she would understand me, even if I was in my werewolf form, but unfortunately what came out of my mouth wasn't anything like I'd said. Instead, a low guttural growl escaped from my lips and that's what caused her to run._

_ The wolf ran after her._

_ I'll give her credit, she was a good, fast runner, but unfortunately the wolf was faster and I soon found myself leaping into the air and landing on her back, knocking her over, and rolling off of her, sliding to a stop._

No stop, please!

_She sat up and backed away, fear evident in her eyes and face as she stared at me and I stared back at her, my lips pulled back into a snarl. "No, please . . ." she begged._

_ I tried to take back control of my body, but the wolf had other plans and suddenly . . . I lunged at her._

And woke up gasping for air, sitting bolt upright in my bed.

I looked around to find my view blocked by the bed curtains and I ripped them open to see that I was in the seventh year Gryffindor Boys' Dorm. I took a deep breath of relief as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and leaned forward, running my hands through my hair as I tried to slow my beating heart.

A few minutes passed before I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was 5:45am. _Might as well get ready for the day, there's no point in getting another fifteen minutes of sleep_ I thought and stood up, walking over to my trunk, pulled out a clean uniform for the day, and walked toward the communal bathroom to shower, shave, and get dressed.

Twenty minutes later, I grabbed my bag, filled it with the textbooks I needed that day, a couple of notebooks, an inkwell and a quill and walked out of the dorm and down to the Common Room.

"Morning Remus," said Lily as I reached the bottom step.

"Morning Lily, and how are you?" I asked.

"I'm doing well, thank you, and how are you? You look as though you've had a fitful night," she replied.

I sighed, nothing ever got by that woman and I was glad she had finally given James a chance instead of refusing to date him again and again. "It's nothing, just overworked I guess," I replied.

"Okay, well if you ever need to talk about it, I'll be here," she replied. "By the way, the full-moon is also going to be a harvest moon, so be careful," she added in a whisper.

"I will thank you," I replied back, also in a whisper. "By the way, James is still asleep but if you want I can go get him for you."

She smiled. "No it's all right, I know one way to get him out of bed," she replied, taking out her wand, and waving it.

A few minutes later, loud shouts and curses could be heard coming from the dorm room I had just left.

We both chuckled. "I'm glad I don't have to deal with your charmwork," I replied. "Poor Prongs don't know what he got himself into when you finally agreed to go out with him."

She chuckled. "Oh I think he did, he just didn't realize that I would actually do it," she said. "I'll see you later in Care of Magical Creatures Class."

"Okay, have a nice day," I replied and was about to walk off when she called out to me.

"Oh by the way, Tonks is also joining us for the Hogsmeade trip on Halloween," she said.

I nodded. "Okay," I replied and continued on my way out of the Common Room and down toward the Great Hall.

_So, it looks like you're not the only one trying to help Tonks by being nice to her _said a voice in my head. _Course then again, Lily has been trying ever since Tonks' first year._

_ And last I knew this isn't the first time those two have been to Hogsmeade together _I thought and sighed. _I just wonder if Tonks will ever trust us. I mean, she has no reason to trust any of us, especially since she seems to think that I hurt her somehow._

_ Also you're a werewolf and, while the guys and Lily know about it, she doesn't, and at some point, you're going to have to tell her _said common sense.

I grimaced. It had been hard enough to tell Lily about my secret and how the guys and I disappeared three nights a month. I would change into the werewolf while the guys would change into their animagus forms; I had been afraid that not only would Lily treat me like everyone else, but that she would also break up with James for being my friend. Of course, the complete opposite had happened and we were one big group of friends.

_Give it time, you don't know what will happen and it does not to due to dwell on things that you have no control over _said that voice.

_I know, I just wish I knew what that dream meant. Why did I imagine Tonks being in that clearing? And why did I have control over the wolf even for the few seconds I did _I wondered as I entered the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. As I ate my breakfast, I pondered the dream I had, wondering if it was a vision of the future, or if it was just a dream from being tired and overworked.

_I guess we'll find out at some point_ I thought, making the decision that, at the time, I had no idea would have the results and consequences that it did.


End file.
